In a World Like Ours
by ArtsyMusicalSakura
Summary: Gon, an ordinary seventh grader, has enjoyed fairy tales and other magical stories ever since he was in diapers. He hopes that they come true in a VRMMORPG called Sword Art Online. When he crosses paths with a mysterious boy named Killua in this game, he realizes that the world of SAO is just as realistic as the real world. Rated T for violence and themes of bullying and revenge.
1. The World of Swords

**AN: This story is dedicated to one of my friends because she's a fan of both Hunter x Hunter and Sword Art Online. With no doubt, this will contain MAJOR spoilers for those who have never seen SAO or have not completed the entire series. If you'd like, I encourage you to watch it because it's a very good anime. Like I said in the description, this is a crossover fic. That means there will be interactions between the HxH and SAO characters. Please R&R! I'd appreciate it! Thank you and enjoy! :D **

* * *

"LINK START!" Gon shouted so loud that his dog woke up from its sleep.

Millions of colors flashed and sped away before his eyes. Settings had been confirmed. _Sight, ok. Sound, ok. Touch, ok. Taste, ok. Smell, ok. Language: English. _More beams of colors sped by.

XxXxX

_Ring, ring, ring!_ The telephone was ringing loudly. Mito, Gon's aunt, picked it up and held it to her ear.

"Hello, who is this?" she asked.

"Hi, Aunt Mito. Is Gon there?" Kurapika, Gon's neighbor, answered.

Kurapika was a senior high school student who attended a private Catholic school. He usually was in charge of himself at home since his parents were working overseas. He was a handsome and cute young man with golden blonde hair reaching the nape of his neck, flawless, milky skin, and stormy gray eyes. He had extraordinary talent in computers, fencing, playing the tenor saxophone, and singing. This made him one of the most popular students in the entire school especially among the ladies. He was also extremely intelligent as he had a love for books and thirst for learning. Even though he was mostly friendly and lovable, he enjoyed teasing people like Gon when he could.

"I'm sorry, Kurapika, but Gon can't talk to you right now. He's in the middle of playing Sword Art Online and he's been dreaming of playing it for a while now so we can't distract him."

"It's fine, Aunt Mito. I was wondering if you can give him my birthday present since it's his birthday today!"

"Aw, that's so sweet of you. Gon is grateful to have someone like you."

XxXxX

Gon was in a crammed room with dim night walls displaying tons of computer-like circuits outlined in bright green. Floating right in front of him was a small, round black table with no legs shaped like an upside down cone.

"Please enter your name," a feminine, robotic voice informed.

Gon typed in his name using the black table's touch screen keyboard. After pressing 'ok,' the voice said,

"Welcome to Sword Art Online, Gon. Proceed to create your character."

Immediately, there came a list of many features he could customize which appeared vertically like it would on a computer screen. It included eyes, hair, skin, and more. He pressed 'ok' again once he finished and a picture of his character showed up.

"Are you sure you want to use this as your character?"

Gon's character was a rather handsome, tall man who looked much older than twelve years old, his actual age. His hair, in a crew cut, and eyes were as green as limes and peas. His skin was tan like beach sand just like in reality. He wore a green long-sleeved shirt covered by silver chest plate armor, black gloves, navy blue pants, and milk chocolate boots.

"Yes," he replied and pressed 'yes.'

Suddenly, the floor and the walls began to crumble.

"What's this?" Gon asked in a worried tone as he was shaking around.

A light had shone and blinded his eyes. After it faded away, Gon slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying down in a wide meadow. When he stood up, he spotted a huge chunk of floating land towering above him.

"What in the world is that?" he asked himself in fear.

"That is Aincrad, the world of Sword Art Online," a deep, manly voice said.

Gon looked to his right and realized that a very tall middle-aged man with a blue crew haircut, aqua eyes, and circular glasses rimmed with a gray frame had answered that question.

"Really? It looks so... intimidating but fascinating..."

"You sound like you haven't beta-tested this game," the man pointed out.

"Beta-testing? What do you mean by that?"

"To beta-test a game means to test the game prior to it's official release."

"Ah, now I understand. No, I haven't beta-tested SAO."

"Since you never played SAO before, would you like me to show you the basic ropes of this game?"

"Yes, please! I'd really like that, sir!" Gon beamed.

"All right! First things first. Use your right index finger to swipe down midair. This is how you'll see the menu."

"Okay!"

When he did this, a list of several options appeared such as inventory, equipment, and settings.

"Go to inventory."

Gon found a new item in his inventory: a one-handed short dagger.

"Choose that item and press equip."

The dagger appeared in Gon's right hand.

"Wow, that's so cool!"

"Wanna know something even cooler?" the man grinned.

"Tell me, sir!"

"Even though there's no such thing as magic in SAO, you can perform all sorts of tricks and super powers with just one sword!"

"Awesome!"

"See that boar over there?" he asked, pointing it out. "I'll teach you how to kill it in an instant."

"I'm all ears, sir."

"First, concentrate your energy into your dagger by grasping it very tightly."

"Got it."

To focus harder, Gon shut his eyes.

"You should feel some vibrations if you're doing this correctly."

Gon opened his eyes and looked down at his dagger. It was vibrating and he also noticed that the blade was gradually changing into luminescent purple.

"It's feeling heavier and heavier!"

"That's a good sign. Now, keep your eyes locked on the boar. To release the accumulated energy, move the dagger backwards and quickly aim forward. When I say three, you release the energy. Understood?"

Gon prepared his dagger and answered, "Got it!"

"Ready? One, two, THREE!"

At three, the dagger transitioned forward swiftly and a thin but long ray of energy penetrated through the boar. The boar let out its final squeals and got knocked out.

"You did it! Great job! I'm sure you'll become a talented swordsman because of this game!" the man cheered and pat Gon on the back.

"Thank you so much for helping me! If it wasn't for you, I would've died by now!" Gon said with relief.

"Anytime, man. Oh, you still have to get your loot from the boar. Go check out what you receive."

Gon walked to the carcass and a list of items popped up. He got 20 copper and boar meat.

"You got meat, huh? I could cook it for both of us because I have some experience in cooking. It'll taste great!"

XxXxX

The two of them finished their hunks of boar meat all the way to the harder-than-concrete bone. The man burped loudly for a couple of seconds. Gon giggled so hard that his sides started to hurt. The man started to chuckle too. When they finished, he asked,

"What's your name, young man?"

"I'm Gon and that's actually my name in the real world!"

"I see. I'm Leorio in both this game and the real world too. Since you have such a childish voice for a grown man, I'm guessing you're still a kid."

"Yes, I am, Mr. Leorio. I'm currently twelve."

"Wow, I think you might be one of the youngest gamers in SAO. Don't you think?" Leorio said nervously.

"There could be younger kids," Gon shrugged. "How old are you, Mr. Leorio?"

"You may not believe when I tell you this but..." he scooched closer to Gon's ear.

"Tell me!"

"I'm only... nineteen..." he whispered as softly as possible.

"EH!? NINETEEN!?"

"SHHH!"

"I thought you were in your early forties!"

"Gon, that's so mean! Forget it, we're not friends anymore!" Leorio scolded. "I'm gonna log out now!"

When he opened the menu, the logout button was nowhere in sight. Suddenly, a sound reminiscent of a town bell echoed across the entire land. Gon and Leorio were teleported to the Town of Beginnings, the starting location for all the novice gamers. The other thousands of players had arrived earlier and made a heck of a crowd. Their conversations seemed to sound worrying and puzzling.

"Why are we here?"

"Did an accident happen?"

Everyone went silent as a red computer barrier arched over the Town of Beginnings. Some sort of red substance, similar to blood, was secreting from the barrier's highest point and formed into something unexpected. There were definitely bad news coming according to everyone's instincts. A gigantic being with a long scarlet cloak obscuring all of his face and body rose over the frightened and horrified gamers. The only thing you could see were his hands.

"Attention players," the booming voice announced. "Welcome to my world."

"_My world?"_ Gon thought. _"Does that mean..."_

"My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world."

"_He created SAO! No wonder he sounds familiar!" _Leorio thought.

"I'm sure you've noticed by now that the logout button is missing from the menu. But this is not a defect in this game. I repeat... it is not a defect in the game. Actually, it's a feature of Sword Art Online. You cannot log out of SAO yourselves. And no one from the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear. If they attempt to do this, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave destroying your brain and thus ending your life. Unfortunately, several friends and families ignored this warning. Because of this, two hundred and thirteen players are forever gone from Aincrad and the real world. News organizations across the world are reporting all of this, including the deaths. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be forever lost and simultaneously, the NerveGear will destroy your brain."

Everyone's eyes widened.

"There is only one means of escape. There is a total of one hundred floors in Aincrad. If you defeat all of the Floor Bosses as you work your way up, then you win the game."

"One hundred floors? Impossible! The beta-testers never made it that high!" Leorio hollered.

"I've added a present from me to your inventory. Please see it for yourselves."

Gon, Leorio, and everyone else had gotten a mirror from Kayaba. When they stared into their mirrors, they got shrouded in blue smoke and whimpered for help. The smoke disappeared so Gon looked back at the mirror. He realized that it reverted him back to his true appearance. He had a very cute and childish face for a preteen. He viewed everything with his rather big, round, innocent, milk chocolate eyes. He was tan since he enjoyed the outdoors and nature. His spiky, black hair protruded upward and it made him look taller. His thin, flexible black eyebrows always matched his current mood or emotions.

"Gon?" Leorio asked, shocked to see how the tall man looked in reality. "Is that really how you look?"

"Leorio? You don't look that much different than before..."

The RL Leorio still kept his crew haircut and glasses. Instead, he had black hair like Gon and dark brown eyes.

"That's true," Leorio lightly chuckled.

"All of you are probably now wondering why I would do all of this," Kayaba continued. "It's simple. I created this world for one reason: to intervene in it. This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch. Good luck, players."

His last words left everyone in complete silence as the barrier and Kayaba faded away.

"What'll be your future plans, Gon?" Leorio asked.

"I'm going to become stronger that's for sure! What about you?"

"I have classmates from medical school who are playing SAO. I promised that I would meet up with them to form our own guild."

Gon looked bewildered. "Why medical school?"

"You see, we want to reach our dreams of becoming some sort of brain doctor."

"You mean psychiatrists and neurologists?"

"Right! So we've been given a project in which we observe and study how video games like SAO can affect one's psyche or personality. We're not striving to beat the game just so you know."

"That sound really interesting, Mr. Leorio! I guess we'll go our separate ways from here..."

"If you need me, just come see us at the Dragon Egg Inn in the Town of Beginnings. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"I do hope that you can complete all one hundred floors and put an end to this world. You have tons of potential in you, Gon. I can see it and I know you'll do it. Trust me."

"Thank you, Leorio! I'll see you soon! Good luck on your research!"

They waved at each other and Gon advanced to the roads of potentially dangerous wildlife. As soon as he spotted a rabid-like and vicious wolf, he penetrated it with his dagger's plentiful energy in a flash.

"I will... SURVIVE IN THIS WORLD!" Gon screamed at the top of his lungs, never hesitating to keep running.

* * *

**AN: *squeals* I really liked how I described Kurapika in the beginning. He will appear in far future chapters and be mentioned several times by Gon. He will be a protagonist in the second arc. I hoped you guys liked the first chapter and I'm looking forward to write the next one. It's all because Killua will be introduced! See you next chapter!**


	2. Winter Boy (Part 1)

**AN: Yes, I'm (almost) finished with introducing Killua! This is the first half of the second episode of SAO. I was a little excited about posting this chapter for myself and Killua fans! Hope you enjoy and as always, please R&R! :D **

* * *

"Alright, everyone!" a man with stylish sky blue hair and aqua eyes announced. "We will be starting in a couple of minutes!"

He was holding an important meeting in a colosseum-like outdoor field in the Town of Beginnings. The players that were present for this meeting were interested in working together to defeat the boss on the first floor. Once he saw that more players including Gon were chiming in, he decided to start discussing his plan right away.

"Hello, everyone!" he called out enthusiastically. "My name is Diabel and I consider myself as a knight!"

"Fool, there's no job system in this game!" a player shouted.

Other players laughed at his comment. Diabel ignored his harsh words by smiling at him.

"As you know already, the reason why I gathered all of you together is because I want to share the plan that I've concocted to defeat our very first boss! If you think you have any ideas that could greatly contribute to my plan, please don't hesitate to tell me."

Diabel shut his eyes and opened them quickly. His happy-go-lucky expression turned into a more serious, deep, and determined one. So did the tone of his voice.

"My group finally found the tower that the first floor boss is in. We need to defeat it in order to convince people that this game is actually possible to beat. Here's the first part of my plan: let's divide into six groups!"

Instantly, heaps of players gathered in their own circles and started talking to each other. When Gon watched them, he scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. He said to himself,

''I guess everyone knows each other already. I think I'm the only kid who went to this meeting."

Like a dog using its keen sense of smell to look out for food, he looked in every direction possible to notice any left out players. He did when he looked far away to the left. There was another player sitting in the same row who looked so bored as his hands looked like they were digging deep into the sides of his face. Gon quickly scooched over near his spot. Gon cleared his throat thoroughly.

"Um, excuse me," he began in a hesitant but polite tone, " it seems like you've been left out like I've been, right?"

The other boy just nodded his head.

"Then, do you want to form a group with me?" he answered with a smile.

The boy nodded again. Gon invited him and the boy accepted. Gon noticed a smaller health bar right under his. Next to the bar was the boy's name: Killua.

_So his name's Killua. It's very unique! _Gon thought.

Killua had skin as bright as snow which was dotted with nice amounts of freckles on each of his cheeks. He looked at people with his beautiful, sad-looking eyes that were more blue than the clean and salty waters of the Bahamas. He kept away his hair good in a pointy winter hat with stripes of different shades of blue and intricate snowflake designs.

"Could you take off your hat, please? I'd like to see how your hair looks," Gon smiled big, looking at Killua straight into his soul.

Killua gave him the stink eye, eyes squinting at him with hatred and he shook his head a lot.

"I'm sorry if that question made you very sensitive!" Gon apologized.

Killua glanced away to show his disapproval.

"Okay, guys! Now that we've formed enough groups, do we have any players that know some information on the first floor boss perhaps?

"Right here," a hunky, tall man with a booming voice replied and raised his hand. He had skin as tan as Gon's, very broad shoulders, long grey hair reaching them, and black sunglasses that always obscured his eyes completely. In one of his big hands was a pocket book with a leather cover bordered by a gold frame.

"Ah, Morel! It seems like we might have hit the jackpot! Do tell."

"That is true, Diabel. What I'm holding right now has all our answers to defeating every known boss in SAO."

All of the players, except Killua, gasped and began to mutter. Morel handed the book over to Diabel so he turned over many pages to find the currently targeted boss. His eyes brightened at the solution when it was finally found.

"Our boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. He wields a powerful mallet that transforms into an axe when his health bar is in the orange range. He has minions that are fearful but should be taken care of easily! We'll now be taking a break, folks!"

XxXxX

Killua was sitting all by himself on the edge of a short brick frame holding bushes and small flowers. Diabel and the older players thoroughly enjoyed themselves with seconds in drinks and food. Gon felt sympathetic enough for Killua because he knew what it was like to be lonely.

"May I sit next to you?" he asked.

"Sure..." Killua finally spoke but it was in a monotonous voice. His voice was somewhat girlish but coarse.

Gon sat down and Killua moved an inch away from him.

"How come you didn't speak up earlier?"

"It's because I thought you were going to be like the people in my school who didn't accept me for who I am. Someone that I wouldn't put my trust in. Since you've already been treating me nicely, maybe you're not a bad person after all."

"People who didn't accept you? What exactly is your story?" Gon asked curiously.

"I don't wanna talk about it," he answered bluntly and shook his head. "It's pretty depressing if you ask me."

"It's ok," Gon smiled. "I guess it's that personal. I understand you perfectly."

Killua grinned a tiny bit and returned to his frowny expression.

"Believe it or not, it was an accident ending up being stuck forever in this world. I do feel much better in it than the real world. This is where I get to be who I want to be without anyone rejecting me."

"I see. Same here! I guess it was an accident for eveyone, right?"

Killua nodded in agreement.

"Oh, right! I have some food with me! Would you like some?" Gon grabbed a big piece of bread out of a pouch and a bottle of fresh creamy butter.

Killua's eyes glistened at the sight of the delicious-looking bread that Gon had in his hand and his mouth started to water.

"YES, PLEASE! I AM HUNGRY!" he exclaimed with pride.

Gon split the bread in half and gave the slightly bigger piece to Killua. When Killua touched the bottle, a glowing sphere formed around his finger and put it on the bread. The sphere turned into butter.

"Oooh!" Killua said as his pretty sapphire pupils widened.

"It tastes as good as it looks! Try it!" Gon suggested happily.

Killua stared at his butter-covered bread nervously as if it was an unfamiliar food to him. He finally took a bite of it and chewed it thoroughly.

"Mmm!" he mumbled excitedly.

He quickly took several more bites but chewed slower to have the tastiness sustain longer.

"Ah, that was too good!" Killua sighed. "How in the world did you get butter that good? I want some for myself!"

"It was a reward from the quest 'The Monster Strikes Back.' You can take it in the village right behind this one."

"Alright, I won't forget!"

The two young boys continued to enjoy their conversation until Diabel ordered everyone to get in their groups and follow his lead.

To be continued...

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**I might have made some mistakes about the information on Illfang and the name of the quest that Gon mentions. Please correct me if you can! See you next chapter! :D**


	3. Winter Boy (Part 2)

**AN: Whew, I finally updated part 2! I'm very sorry about not updating in like a month! A new fanfiction emerged from my creative mind so I worked on that instead! I decided to take a break from that one and focus on this one! This chapter was difficult at times to write and I worked very hard on it! I hope it's worth reading! As always, please R&R! I'd appreciate it greatly! Thank you and enjoy! :D**

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"Do you know what they're talking about?" Gon asked.

Killua just shrugged to show that he was completely clueless too.

Diabel and his followers were strolling through a forest, taking in its refreshing and peaceful air. Natural beauty was all around them. The forest was densely packed with towering, sturdy trees whose leaves partly obscured the eye-piercing sunlight. Gon and Killua were the only kids in Diabel's party so they were walking behind all the more mature and older players. They were discussing about a term known as _switching_ with their party members. It was a word so foreign and strange to the two young boys. They were familiar with its literal meaning, but not what it meant in SAO. Gon cleared his throat a bit.

"Excuse me, what does _switching _mean?" he asked a player in front of them.

"It's how it exactly sounds like, kid," the player answered, glancing back. "You change positions with the player who's fighting the main enemy. It's not that hard to follow."

"Ah, thank you! Now I really understand."

"Anytime, kid," the player grinned.

XxXxX

At last, everyone arrived at the grandiose wooden doors of the dungeon. There were feelings of apprehension and tension in the atmosphere. It was a 50-50 situation; either they would leave with a lucky player earning the precious loot left by Illfang or death would strike their hearts. All of them, especially Gon and Killua, felt nervosity consuming their minds as they thought about the possible outcomes of their first boss battle. Millions of butterflies fluttered frantically in their stomaches that some craved the need to return to the Town of Begnnings and rest peacefully at an inn.

"Do we have to do this?" a player whimpered, his entire body shuddering from the nerve accumulated in his chest.

"I changed my mind! I wanna go home now!" another player cried out.

"You'll be fine, everyone," Diabel comforted. "I'll make sure you won't die. If you don't take time to overcome your fears, then there's no way you can go back to the real world, to your family and friends."

Diabel's inspiring speech caused Gon to tear up a little. Loud enough for Diabel to pick up, he announced, "I miss everyone that I love... my aunt Mito... Kurapika... my classmates... I can't stop thinking about them! I know that I've made them very worried!"

Killua gazed at Gon with warm and sympathetic eyes that had a shine brighter than millions of stars clustered together. He looked up at the ceiling, reminiscing his own memories of the real world...

XxXxX

_It was warm and sunny; the perfect time to dash outdoors and release yourself into the vast beauty and wonder of nature. For Killua, the weather was also perfect for baseball season. Spring break was currently going on; some children going on vacations to nearby beaches and others spending leisure time with close friends. _

_As the alarm blared at only six in the morning, Killua shut off his clock quickly and stretched his arms as far as he could. He inserted his tiny feet into two fluffy cat slippers and scrambled down the hallway cutely. Killua was in kindergarten, an adorable bundle of energy who had no friends his age. Fortunately, he had two best friends at home..._

"_Ah, good morning, Killua," Silva, his father, smiled. He was already waiting for his favorite son at the spiraling staircase._

"_Hi, Daddy!" Killua responded happily and embraced him by his knees._

"_You're always smiling, you know," Silva smoothened his hair gently. _

"_That's because you always make me happy, Daddy!" Little Killua glanced up at his father. "I love you!"_

"_Love you too, kiddo," he chuckled. Then, he took a knee so his sapphire eyes directly met his son's. "Hey, let's go downstairs and surprise your mom by cooking her a nice big breakfast. How does that sound?"_

_Killua pouted and stomped his feet. _

"_No, I don't want to! I don't like Mommy at all because she's a crazy lady who yells at me and cries all the time!"_

"_Killua Zaoldyeck," Silva ordered, his voice much more serious and strict, "that's a very, very disrespectful thing to say about your mother. If you continue to act that way, then I'm afraid that I have to ground you for a week and take away your toys and video games. Understood?"_

XxXxX

"Here we go! Life or death, it's worth it!" Diabel exclaimed.

Everyone got closer to the doors, preparing their swords in their hands and eyebrows furrowing, looking much more serious and determined.

"Five, four, three..." he placed his hand on one door.

Pairs of legs and swords wiggled like worms squirming constantly in soil. Drips of perspiration started to stream down their gaunt faces. They were more anxious than ever.

"Two..." he slowed down. He took his deepest breath and hollered, "ONE!"

Both doors simultaneously opened and floods of players charged through, letting out their war cries. They were dashing freely through the wide corridor of the dungeon. One by one, they spotted their targets and engaged in minor battles with Illfang's minions, enemies who were wielding simple swords or daggers. There weren't a lot to handle; possibly around twenty of them.

"Take this!" Gon shouted as he aimed at a minion with his longer sword that was now glowing with a strong radiance of light.

He was able to strike it, but the amount of power he used wasn't good enough to actually kill it. The minion retributed the attack by slashing into Gon's chest. It left a prominent red mark with little blood-colored polygons floating off in the air.

"AAAHHH!" he screeched, falling down on his back.

After Killua finished off a minion, he turned to see Gon and decided to avenge him. He walked slowly toward his virtual enemy, a silver sword being held in his right hand and it started to illuminate like a light bulb. The minion speeded towards him, hoping to get rid of the little boy. Its sword was heading straight towards the boy's chest but suddenly...

_SLASH! _Killua sliced its stomach and stabbed the red creature deep enough in his heart that it wouldn't be able to remove the sword before its death happened. Its health bar quickly dwindled to nothing. _POOF! _It disappeared into small white triangles and they soon dissipated. He breathed heavily, showing relief since it was a close shave.

Gon slowly sat up and stared at the boy who fought back for him, stunned by his sword skills.

XxXxX

"_Daddy, can we go to the park?" the tiny silver-haired tike asked, jumping up and down vigorously._

"_Anytime for you, Kil," Silva smiled gently and patted him on the head._

"_YAY!" he cheered and scrambled upstairs to his room._

_A few minutes later, he showed up wearing the kid-sized uniform that his favorite baseball team wore: a paper white T-shirt with thin blue stripes and ivory white pants that were raised to his knees. Of course, the navy blue cap was its cherry on top._

"_By the way, Alluka wants to come!" he said._

"_She's welcome to join."_

"_Alluka!" he called out. His cute little sister, a young girl with shoulder-length raven hair who was wearing a yellow sweater, instantly scurried from the kitchen. "You can come play baseball with me!"_

"_Hooray!" she exclaimed, short arms in the air. "I know that Big Brother will make a homerun again like he always does!"_

XxXxX

At last but not least, Illfang was the only beast standing. He was a massive red creature with a green tattoo on his bulging stomach, a long tail, and chunky fingers wielding claws that he barely even used. He had hostile scarlet eyes that would cause true cowards to flee and his head was protected by his silver helmet. Currently, he was utilizing his fearsome iron axe to slay everyone.

"Squad A, attack from the front! Squad B, guard yourselves and be prepared to switch!" Diabel commanded.

"Roger!" everyone in those groups responded forcefully.

Diabel wasn't your usual beta tester. Unlike the others, he wasn't selfish and didn't feel apathetic for the less experienced players. He was a leader for them, a commander. He was their light and connected with them easily.

"Squads C and D, distract Illfang by attacking him from the rear end!"

"Roger!"

"Excellent! Now's my chance to give him the final blow!" he declared with pride.

He charged towards the monster as fast as possible. Illfang was near his death, his health bar in the negative area. Behind his back, he switched his axe with a no-dachi, a lengthy Japanese blade that served as a great lethal weapon. He revealed it to the public, leaving everyone in shock as they witnessed their widely admirable leader get slashed by it. His screams filled the volume of the whole dungeon.

"DIABEL!" Morel called out desperately as the blue-haired collapsed on the floor, about to die.

"Everyone..." he announced weakly.

Gon and Killua looked back at him, giving him their undivided attention. Other players stopped carrying out their orders for a second so they could listen to his final words.

"Please... kill him... for me... for every player in SAO..." he said, struggling to speak louder. "All of you are amazing individuals... You'll become way stronger than I am... Help players in need... Try earning their trust..."

"Thank you, Diabel," Gon complimented. "Thank you for trying your best to protect and support all of us."

As he shot back a sad smile at Gon, his health bar finally reached zero. He fleeted away in the air as thousands of white polygons, data that made him up. Gon was about to cry, but he was able to resist having his melancholy occupy his mind. He held in his tears and faced Killua with serious eyes.

"You ready?" he asked.

Killua nodded.

"We'll do it with all we've got! On three, we fight him with our only shot!"

"Got it."

"There's no way these kids can handle that thing by themselves!" a player said. Luckily, Gon didn't hear him.

"One... two... THREE!"

They scrammed towards the boss, their yells dominating minor conversations from other players. Suddenly, Killua was ahead of Gon because he wanted to strike first. His sword glowed like the previous times and he was getting ready to deliver a blow for Diabel. Illfang raised his no-dachi, preparing to hack Killua's body.

"KILLUA!" Gon shouted, warning him about the damage he was going to receive.

Killua startled a bit from how he said his name for the first time. He dodged just in time but the blade sliced through his beloved winter hat. It ripped apart into smaller pieces of cloth and vanished from sight.

"No!" he said, very annoyed.

Eventually, he did ignore it. The sword felt heavier and heavier so he struck the programmed creature as hard as he could and his attack made Illfang fly away many yards. Now, Gon and the others could finally see what Killua's hair looked like.

His hair was sparkling as much as a grandiose chandlier suspending from above and displaying thousands of tinkllng lights. It was pure silver, more genuine than the color you'd see on cars. It was prickly like Gon's but it was softer in texture so it wasn't that difficult to brush. It flowed smoothly on his head even if he made the smallest movement. Gon couldn't help but stare at it for a long time. He thought he was seeing a totally different, new person right in front of him.

XxXxX

_Killua pounded the little ball that Alluka threw using all of his strength. He sent it soaring the air in a fine arc path and it landed a little far away from the baseball field. He sprinted the bases like a cheetah and slid happily on home base._

"_DADDY, I MADE A HOMERUN!" he shouted so loud that people in the other areas of the park would have picked up echoes._

"_You sure did!" Silva agreed. "That's great!"_

"_Can you take us to the ice cream place, then?" he inquired so adorably that it would be very hard for Silva to deny a cute and innocent little boy like him._

"_Definitely! Daddy's got a lot of money, so we can go there as often as you'd like!" he assured in a playful voice._

"_I love you, Daddy!" Killua proclaimed. "I love you and Alluka so much that I can't imagine what it would be like without you!"_

XxXxX

"Killua, watch out! He's going to attack again!"

Killua shifted far enough behind Gon to avoid the blade again in time. Gon switched with Killua by charging ahead and attempting to fight back but Illfang was the first to blow him away. He crashed into Killua, losing a good amount of his health. Killua glanced up to see Illfang's face, concerned with what would happen to them next. With his own sword, Morel succeeded in blocking the attack that was intended to destroy Gon and Killua.

"We'll let you recover for a little while!" he suggested. "Let us handle the work for you!"

"Okay..." Gon answered with a weak grin.

Unfortunately, most of the players got knocked out by Illfang's dangerous moves. Thankfully, Gon was already feeling better so he was back on his feet.

"Killua, I'm ready!"

"Let's do this."

They stood up, standing next to each other and looking at the other's eyes. Gon returned to staring at Killua in a dreamy trance and smiled with his mouth open. He started to drool a little.

"Wh-why are you looking at me like that?" Killua asked, very embarrassed and started to blush furiously. "Creeper!"

Gon shooked his head frantically, slapping his mind out of its dream side.

"I'm very sorry about that! It's just that I can't believe that you're the same boy!"

"Forget it. Let's just finish this battle, okay?" Killua insisted, his cheeks still red.

"Right. Like last time, we go on three!"

"Yeah."

"One, two, THREE!" Gon emphasized the last number much more.

Together, they ran at the same speed, taking many risks. Gon was the first to attack using the energy beams made by his sword. Illfang slid back several feet.

"Switch!" he called out.

Now it was Killua's turn to blast out his aura and several growls came from the scarlet monster. At first, switching was a slow process for them but it gradually became faster and faster. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Gon, Killua, Gon, Killua. To top off their battle pattern like a cherry on a sundae, they delivered the final smash together as allies, as _friends_. Soon, a shining light overtook Ilfang's body and it eventually exploded into polygonal particles of data.

Everyone kept silent, staying still in their fighting stances in case there was a surprise. A message saying "Congratulations" had popped up before everyone's alert eyes. Roars, cheers, and shouts began to rid the air of tension and turned it into bliss.

"Good job, Killua!" Gon said in tiring pants, holding out his hand.

Killua gazed at his welcoming, friendly hand for a second and genuinely smiled. He could feel that Gon was meant to be his salvation.


End file.
